The Edgy Loud House
by Dispray
Summary: Three years into the future, the Loud family is in a rough shape. Lynn is a frequent visitor at the Royal Woods Police Station, Lincoln struggles with depression, anxiety and inferiority complex while Luan has started to lust after her brother. With his self-loathing reaching its climax, Lincoln must first win the battle with himself, before he can help his deteriorating family.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

"Dad, hey dad! It's the police, they have brought Lynn, again. Who would have thought...", Lana yelled as she opened the front door where two police officers where standing along with Lynn who had mud all over her clothes and two stitches on her forehead.

"Oh Lord, what did she do now?", Lynn Sr. lamented as he climbed down the stairs and went to confront the trio that was standing at his front door.

"Well Mr. Loud, she got into a fight, for the sixth time this month, which is now a record for a sixteen-year-old girl. She broke the boy's right arm and you or your insurance will pay the bills for his recovery. Fortunately for you, the boy's family won't sue you, you're just gonna pay the bills. Now, I suggest that you have a talk with your daughter to calm her down or she will end in prison, just so she can feel what will happen when you live a life of violence. Have a good night sir", the two cops nodded as they left. Lynn entered the house and her father slammed the door so hard that it made her twitch.

"Dad, I-", but before she could even continue, Lynn Sr. rasped at her to go to her room and kick out Lucy if she was there. He's gonna have a talk with her.

Lynn was always the toughest and most aggressive of the Loud siblings. Even Lana paled in comparison to her. But in the last few months, her behaviour had drastically started to get worse: her grades, which already weren't in good condition, were getting even lower, she was getting into more and more arguments with her siblings, especially Lincoln, and the most scary thing, she was a regular visitor in the Royal Woods police station. She didn't choose who to fight, were it a he or she, older or younger, she got angry in seconds and just started to pick fights which didn't even concern her. Her parents have tried everything to try and somehow help their daughter but it was all in vain.

"So, what happened to Lynn? She was once again with the police", Luna asked at the dinner table.

"What do you think? She got into a stupid fight again, only causing more problems for all of us. Dumbass", Lana replied as she started to eat.

"Lana, language", Rita warned her daughter.

"Sorry mom."

"Where is Lincoln? Why doesn't he come to eat?", Luan wondered.

"He's probably watching those shitty Chinese cartoons again, what a fucking loser", Lola said as she was slurping her soup.

"Okay, this is the last time that I'm gonna warn you for your language. The next one who swears won't leave the house for the next week except for school. Is that understood?", Rita slammed her fist on the table, causing the Lily, Lisa, Lola, Lana, Luan and Luna to twitch from their chairs.

"Lola, you're factually wrong again. First of all, they're not Chinese, they're Japanese, in most cases at least. Secondly, they're not 'cartoons', they're called 'anime', thirdly and lastly, they're not the 's' word that you called, they are art. I suggest that you watch some before speaking the same nonsense again", Lisa pointed her right index finger at her older sister. Lola just shrugged her shoulders.

A few minutes later, Lucy climbed down the stairs and took a seat on the dinner table without saying word (it's not like that wasn't unusual for her).

"What's wrong Luce? Where is Lynn?", Luna smiled at her younger sister.

"Dad's talking with her in our room. I have never seen him this angry, he threw me out like a dog. Sigh.", Lucy sighed for real now, and started eating her soup.

"I can understand his anger. He has to be sharp towards Lynn if he wants to finally calm her down and prevent her from doing any more stupid and reckless things", Lisa adjusted her glasses.

Meanwhile in Lynn's and Lucy's room…

Lynn Sr. walked from the door to the window, with his hands clumped behind his back and looking at the ground with his brows furrowed. Lynn was sitting on her bed, her fingers entangled with one another, her right knee was nervously twitching and she glanced at her father from time to time. If there was one thing that Lynn Jr. was afraid of on this world, was her father being angry.

"So Lynn, it happened again, even though you gave me a promise that you would stop getting into fights that didn't concern you. Even when it concerns you, you should always try and solve the problem with words, dialogue, conversation. Using your fists is only the last resort", Lynn Sr. finally stopped walking in a straight line and sat on Lucy's bed that resembled a large coffin with black sheets. He had crossed his arms and looked straight at his daughter's eyes, causing Lynn Jr. to move her head a little bit back. Her father's eyes were mixed with both concern and anger.

"But this time it did really concern me, it concerned our family! Some idiot was talking shit about Lincoln, calling him a wimp, a weakling, and even though he's true, I still can't allow someone, anyone, to talk shit about family around me. I had to take action dad, I'm sorry but that's just who I am. I act first then think only after the deed has already been done", Lynn Jr. just shrugged her shoulders. She _knew _that she had done the right thing, protecting her family's honor, but still, everyone called her a barbarian, a bully. Nobody seemed to understand her and her feelings.

"I know Lynn, you can't stand injustice, mockery of your family, and that's a good thing. But everything has limits, even that. You can't just go around the town and beat up people who talk bad about. If I have done that when I was younger, I would probably be in jail right now or be an invalid from all the injuries I'd have sustained fighting pointless fights. And that also brings me to another point...your own health. You really want to suffer an injury that would mean an end to your sports career? You want that to happen", Lynn Sr. again stood up but this time he put his hands in his pockets and looked at his tomboyish daughter from above.

"You're too afraid to admit it, aren't you", Lynn sighed as she shook her head.

"Admit what Lynn?", her father narrowed his eyes on her.

"That your only son, your middle child, Lincoln Loud is a pussy, a pathetic weakling who allows everyone to just trample on him, use him any way they want and when they have no more use for him, just throw him in the trash or laugh and insult him like the worst thing in the world...", Lynn also stood up, looked up to her father with a dead serious expression.

Lynn Sr. raised his right hand, as if he wanted to eat his daughter, as he ground his teeth. She just stared at him.

The worst part about all of this was...that Lynn Jr. was right. The truth hit the father of eleven children like a hammer in the head. Lynn was Lincoln's closest sibling in age, they were two years apart yet they seemed to be the two most different people in this world. Two polar opposites.

"Don't call Lincoln like that! He's your younger brother, and it's your duty to protect him and make him feel happy that he was fortunate to be born with this many sisters, not to make him loathe of ever being born in a large family like this. I know that Lincoln is softer than other boys of his age but that doesn't mean that we should discriminate him based on that. What if he knows some things better than his peers, but we just don't them yet. Give him time...", Lynn Sr. sighed as he put his hand down.

"We gave him three years dad. Three long years and he only seems to be getting worse. He didn't have a girlfriend since he broke up with Ronnie Anne, his best friend is an ever bigger nerd and failure than him, Clyde and none of his friends has any redeemable qualities. If you want him to become a true man, you have to act now or you will lose your son forever", Lynn tightened her right fist.

Her father stared at her for a few moments, then opened his mouth as if to say something but instead chose against it.

"All right, we're finished here. Let's go eat, your mum is probably angry that we are so late at the table", Lynn Sr. nervously chuckled as the two of them left Lynn's and Lucy's room. There was so much that Lynn Sr. wanted to tell his daughter but frankly, he didn't have the energy to do that as he was too tired from work. He just had hoped that Lynn Jr. would stop getting into fights.

Despite Luna knocking on his door and calling him for dinner, Lincoln was still lying stomach-first on his bed and watching, as Lola called, "shitty Chinese cartoons", only stopping when he had to go to the bathroom. He had tons of homework to do but he ignored it, as he had hoped that his younger sister Lisa would do it for him. Lincoln was covered from head to toe with his blanket, Clyde had called him several times and left him messages on his phone but he didn't hear it as he had set it to vibration only.

During the last weeks, whenever a phone would ring near Lincoln, he was getting startled like someone poured a bucket of ice cold water over his head. For whatever reasons, he also got fearful of prolonged exposure to people, even his closest friends and family. He visited Clyde's therapist Dr. Lopez several times and it went really well, he felt much better, much more secure...until he got home and then it all started again. He lost in things that he once liked, he self-esteem had hit an all-time low, whenever Lynn would burst through his door so that he can practice some sports with her, he would curl himself into a ball and start sobbing.

Luna was the one most concerned for her little brother. She felt sympathetic with him, as she considered them both outcasts, considering how everyone treated her after her relationship with Sam got public. Luna knew that her parents were religious, conservative, but she always had a small ray of hope that they would soften up for her daughter if she told them that she had found true love, even if it was with someone of the same gender as her. But unfortunately for poor Luna, she was met with disgust and anger from most of her family. The only one who actually showed some support for Luna were her grandfather Albert, her roommate Luan and Lincoln. In fact, it looked like whatever she seemed to do, Lincoln would always show his support for his sisters.

After those unpleasant moments, Luna was forced to break up with Sam. The first few months were like hell for her, literal hell. The young rocker started smoking, drinking alcohol and even tried her first weed. She had never felt happier in her life after she had smoke her first blunt. But, it was only a temporarily illusion, and the cruel and harsh reality hit her just as the effect wore off.

"Lincoln, please bro, come and eat, anything. You haven't eaten all day", Luna's raspy voice could be heard again as she knocked on Lincoln's door. Lincoln sighed, quickly closed his laptop, and opened the door.

"Oh, Luna, it's you. I'm sorry but I'm not in the mood right now, I don't have any appetite", Lincoln forced himself to smile. But before he could do anything, Luna leaned in and wrapped her hands around her little brother, hugging him tightly. Despite her being eighteen and Lincoln fourteen, they were roughly around the same height now. He was always tall for his age and it was only showing now as he had surpassed his older sisters Lynn and Luan in height, even if just barely. Lynn Sr. and Rita were almost too sure that Lincoln and Lucy would be the tallest of the Loud children when they grew up.

"Linky, please, you're making us all worried for you. Go and eat something, even if it's against your will", Luna whispered into Lincoln's right ear, causing all of his hairs on his body to raise straight up. Even the recently grown peachfuzz on his face.

"Okay then, fine. I don't want to make you guys angry", Lincoln smiled as Luna broke the hug, pat him on the head a few times and went to her own room.

_It shouldn't be that hard, right Linc? Now just to try and return to my room without any harm… _

But just as he stepped out of his room, closing the door, Lynn climbed up the stairs and went to her room. Just as she put her hand on the door handle, she noticed her younger brother standing in front of his room, looking like he was petrified of fear from seeing her. She narrowed her eyes at him and started to walk towards him, stopping just a few centimeters away from him.

"Finally decided to step out of your cave? Good for you Lame-o. Now take a good look at what your incompetence has done", Lynn groaned at him, as she pointed at her two stitches on her forehead that no-one seemed to notice.

"You got into a fight again? I don't see how that's my problem though...", Lincoln calmly said. He was already taller than his sixteen-year-old sister by a few centimeters so she had to look up to match his eyes, but Lincoln always had the feeling that she was taller and bigger than him. Or was this all just in his head?

"Why, you little shit...", Lynn rasped and slammed her younger brother against the closed door of his room, grabbing his throat with her right hand.

"Lynn, please stop, you're hurting me...", Lincoln cried as tears started to form in his eyes.

"You're a pathetic little pussy, you know that? You're not even worth the effort, my effort, as I'm trying to make you an actual man. Get out of my sight", Lynn hissed as she let him go finally and went back into her room. Lincoln just stood in the same place for a few moments, his hands were shaking, but he managed to wipe the tears out of his eyes before they had started to move down his cheeks onto the rest of his face.

_What did I ever to do her? Why is she hurting me like this, her own brother...siblings should take care of each other, not fight. _

Shaking his head in negation, he finally descended the stairs into the living room. His parents were watching some old Western movie with John Wayne along with the nine-year-old twins Lana and Lola. However, nobody seemed to notice him walking down, they were too focused on the action scenes. He turned his attention to the kitchen and the dinner table, were his youngest sister, the four-year-old Lily, was eating ice-cream.

"Linky! My big bro is here!", Lily leaped from her chair and jumped into Lincoln's arms, nearly knocking him over. He managed to stabilise himself, before smiling and returning the hug.

"Where's my favorite little sister, huh? Come on, we'll eat together", Lincoln carried his youngest sister to her seat, putting her down gently, kissing her on the forehead and finally sitting on his seat. His soup, boiled potatoes and a chicken meat were already cold, but he didn't mind it much. The one good thing to his depression was that he ate any and all types of food, even some that he had hated eating when he was younger.

"So, Lily, what did you do today in kindergarten?", Lincoln smiled as he started to scoop his soup with the spoon.

"It was so awesome today, you should have seen! We were tasked with drawing pictures with our brothers, so I drew you and me playing your favorite video game. I really wanted to show you the picture but we had to leave it there as a memory, so when we're older that we could reflect on our drawings as kids. But don't worry, I'm gonna draw another one with you", Lily laughed as she finished the rest of her ice cream.

_Lily, you really deserve a better brother, not a complete failure like me… _

Lily picked up the empty plastic cup and spoon, throwing the cup into the garbage can, the spoon in the sink, then she came over to Lincoln's side and whispered to his right ear:

"You're my favorite sibling but don't tell that anyone. You're also the one who yells the least at me, even covering me up when I do something bad. You're simply the best Linky!", Lily kissed her big brother on the cheek then sprinted off to her room. Lincoln confusedly touched the spot where his youngest sister had kissed him.

_I am being someone's favorite? This can't be true, can it...I'm just trash, useless trash… _

**Lincoln, you're worth more than you think you are. Stop hurting yourself so much. **

Lincoln gasped, as he got startled.

_What is this voice, it's coming from...inside me?! Am I hallucinating or what…_

But before he could think anything else, a large hand on shoulder brought him back to this world.

"Where's my big man Lincoln huh? It's good that you came down to eat, your mom and I were getting really worried about you, please don't do that again, okay?", his father patted him on the shoulder several times then went back to watching the TV.

"He's right, I should get back to eating before I have lost my appetite again...", Lincoln whispered to himself. He grabbed his spoon and went on to finish his meal.

However, just as he was getting ready to go back to his room…

**Lincoln, you're doing it again, stop your self-loathing… **

_It's that damn voice again! I'm going completely nuts...like I haven't already…_

Lincoln finally got up, and started to walk towards his room. Just as he stepped on the stairs…

**Lincoln, running from your problems isn't gonna make them disappear. Remember that. **

"Stop it already! Get out of my head!", Lincoln screamed and ran to his room, nearly stumbling on the last step but managed to enter his room and lock the door behind.

"What's happening to him?", Lana asked, panicked.

"It's just a phase, it will pass. He just wants us to pity him", Lola groaned.

"Still, I should go and check him out, maybe he's gonna hurt himself", Rita got up and went to his room. Lola rolled her eyes.

Upstairs, Lynn, Lucy and Luna were already standing in the hall, whispering between themselves just Rita arrived.

"Lincoln's making a show again, how original...", Lynn shook her head.

"Do you live in his head? What do you know about him, what he's going through right now? Stop talking about things that you don't understand, dumb jock", Lucy coldly stated.

"You little bitch...", Lynn furiously raised her hand but Luna grabbed her hand before she could strike Lucy.

"Woah, dude, calm down. Not now, please", Luna tried to calm down the situation. Lynn sighed and went back into her room. Not waiting too long, Lucy followed her and closed the door behind her. Luna and Rita could still hear some bickering from their room.

"Those two again...by the way, what happened with Lincoln? I had my headphones on but I could swear that I heard him screaming...", Luna scratched her head.

"It was nothing really, he just, uh, hit himself in the fingers, you know how that hurts", Rita laughed nervously.

"You sure mom?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go talk with him, just go to your room and relax. Don't worry about him", Rita smiled at her third oldest child. Luna nodded then went back to her room.

"Linc, are you okay? Can you let me in?", Rita knocked on her son's door several times but to no avail. Only the ticking of his clock on the wall and his breathing could be heard.

"All right then, I'll leave you alone, so that you can collect your thoughts. Just take it easy, okay", Rita said as she went downstairs again.

_I'd hate calling a doctor for him, he's still too young, but if that would be enough for him to be the same old Lincoln, than I would gladly do it, _Rita thought.

Lincoln curled himself up into a ball, and was lying on the ground. He stared blankly at the emptiness under his bed.

"That emptiness summarizes my soul right now...", Lincoln whispered. Normally stuff like that would only come out of Lucy's mouth but this time it wasn't a joke. Lincoln was genuinely feeling it now.

But that most important thing now was, that mysterious voice. What was it? Has a demon possessed Lincoln? Lucy and Rocky would think that it's cool. Maybe Lincoln would also have thought the same...hadn't it been on him. Was it all just a voice that he subconsciously created so that he could combat the loneliness that he has felt for so long, which is frankly speaking ironic, considering his many siblings. Or was he going completely crazy and this was him entering the final phase of the deterioration of his mind. But how did it all start, what did go wrong…

_I should backtrack a little, to the happier days… _

Leni had finished High School in April. Her grades were solid, just enough that she could finally go to a decent Fashion Design College, she managed to get accepted in New York City, and it was relatively close to Royal Woods. And it really seemed so, at least in the beginning.

But when she actually went there for real, to her new flat, that's where reality kicked in. Leni would be gone for several years, leaving alone, away from her family. Maybe it wouldn't be that much of a problem if not for Leni's personality. She wasn't a bad, a vile person, far from it, she was probably the most pure, kindest and innocent being on this planet. But she was, quite literally, a blonde ditz. Sometimes she couldn't grasp very basic things, that even Lana or Lola already understood. So logically, her family was worried, but as time passed, that worry had also passed. Leni got used to living on her own, she was happy, which was the most important thing for her. That at the beginning of September, and currently, October was drawing to its end.

So, everyone was happy, Leni was studying for her dream job. A perfect situation for everyone, right? Well, not for everyone...not for Lincoln unfortunately.

Out of all of his sisters, Lincoln always had a soft spot for Lily and Leni. The reason for Lily, well it was pretty obvious, she was the youngest, the one who grew up around them, and her personality was gonna be based on one of her older siblings. They could only hope and work on being good role models for their youngest sister. Leni's reason was also pretty well known, she was the most vulnerable of his sisters, even though she was the second-oldest, and was supposed to take care of her younger siblings, helping Lori, their oldest sister, in doing that. Instead, her younger siblings, and especially Lincoln, were really protecting her from outside interference, he couldn't bear the thought of his sweet but naive sister getting used by some manipulative bastards. That was the main reason for the start of his depression, anxiety, angst, and general fear for his sisters.

But before that, Lori got pregnant with her boyfriend Bobby and that's where the chaos started. It happened two years ago, when she was eighteen. Even though she was older than the age of consent in her State, (which was sixteen), the fact that she was still in High School and not married, was reason enough for her conservative and Christian parents to get furious with her. When Bobby arrived in the Loud house to explain the things to Lynn Sr. and Rita, all of the Loud siblings and Rita were forced to hold Lynn Sr. from shredding Bobby to pieces with his bare hands. This was a sign enough for Bobby and Lori what to do. They married the next day but the situation got barely better. Lori's dad ordered her to leave the house and go live with Bobby wherever they wanted.

"I will not raise a bastard under my house, is that understood?!", Lynn Sr. rasped at them, sending a clear message to the two young soon-to-be parents. Even though they had married, Lori's parents still considered their daughter's unborn child as a bastard. All of the Loud kids were very sad and shaken because of this. They tried to talk their parents out of it but to no avail.

But when little Diego Lynn Santiago was born, their views at the new member of their family had changed. Bobby returned from Great Lakes City to his old house in Royal Woods, the house was on sale but luckily for him, it wasn't bought by anyone. Bobby and his new family settled there. It wasn't easy leaving his vast family behind but he realized now that he had a new family now, the one that he needs to take care of. Their relationship with Lynn Sr. and Rita changed but were still shaky. Still, they did have a spot for their new grandson, and tried to help Bobby financially but he refused them. Not because he hated them but because he didn't want to depend on anyone else for the support of his family. He cycled between various jobs to sustain them, it was tough at first but they have managed somehow to pull the strings together.

**When will you start solving your own problems Lincoln? **

Lincoln's body suddenly jerked. That damn voice again…

He slowly got up, sighed then laid down on his bed.

**Are you not gonna answer me? **

Lincoln just stared at the ceiling. If he ignores it, then maybe it will go away.

**I won't go anywhere Lincoln, not as long as you keep being this stubborn. I only want to help you. **

_Then good luck at a pointless job… _

However the voice had suddenly stopped. Lincoln sighed in relief, grabbed his laptop and turned on his favorite show. It was about giant robots, piloted by humans, fighting against various aliens to defend humanity.

_Man, if only this was real, I wish that I could ride of those. _

Lincoln didn't even notice that hours had passed as he watched it. When night had finally fallen, Lincoln noticed his eyelids getting heavy. His head started to hurt, so he turned off his laptop, put it on the table and went to the bathroom to prepare for bed.

"Going to bed this early? Not typical for you...", Lana scratched her head as she left the bathroom for her room.

"I just feel so damn tired...", Lincoln lamented as he entered the bathroom, washed his teeth and went back to his room. He had to get up early for school and that was the worst thing that could have happened. He only wanted to sleep a little more than usually to finally relax.

When he laid down in his pajamas, the same thing happened as every night. He couldn't get himself to sleep.

Lincoln found out that crying himself to sleep was very effective to falling asleep if you're having problems to fall asleep. The downside was, however, that his eyes would be red tomorrow and he would get ridiculed by everyone for being a little crybaby. But he didn't get mad, he didn't mind it at all actually. Deep down in himself, his shattered mind and soul, he knew that he was just a useless crybaby.

It was midnight and Lincoln was still staring at the full moon that was peeking through his window.

_Should I count some sheep? Maybe that would help… _

Lincoln chuckled to himself. Like hell, that would work. He could freely add insomnia to his ever-growing list of health problems.

_Trash like me probably deserves it...better me than some innocent guy… _

**Again with the self-hate, it's getting dull at this point, just stop, seriously. **

_Great, you're the last thing that I needed. _

Maybe staring at the full moon would help him finally fall asleep. It probably wouldn't, but it was worth the try. He didn't know what else to do.

Lincoln slowly got up, yawned, then moved the curtains on the window to the sides. The light from the full moon made him narrow his eyes a little but he soon adjusted to it.

_So, what now? I just need to stare at it like a moron? _

Lincoln shook his head. There were probably some pills in the kitchen or the first aid kit to help him sleep. But was it really worth it? He was still to young to get addicted to drugs, a fourteen-year-old boy should have no problems sleeping. Unless his name was Lincoln Loud it seemed.

But with the full moon's light, it was very visible in the dark, even from Lincoln's room which was located on the second floor.

Just as Lincoln was getting ready to return to bed, a black flash started to walk over their yard.

Did he see right or was this all an imagination?

He rubbed his eyes with his hands, and took a closer look at the shadow in his yard. Indeed, it was humanoid and it was walking away from his house, into the street.

_Wait a second, it looks familiar… _

When the figure was gone from his view, Lincoln froze on the spot.

_No way...was that...Lucy?! What is an eleven-year-old girl doing outside, alone, and at midnight?! _

She couldn't be connected to the recent events at the Royal Woods Cemetery, right? The last few days, the grave digger, a tall and creepy looking man, had spotted a group of people walking around the cemetery at late night, carrying some weird staffs and bag, speaking some gibberish and even attempting to dig some graves. The grave digger wasn't able to catch them or get a closer look as he was lame in his right leg so he wasn't fast enough to go after them. After he had contacted the police, they were waiting to set up an ambush and catch the grave robbers, but they had no luck. They didn't arrive at all the next few nights, instead appearing at other, smaller cemeteries. They cleverly used hit-and-run tactics on the cops, frustrating them to no end. At last, the police had given up, at least for now. They needed a new strategy to combat them.

As for the poor grave digger, he could only arm himself with a double barrelled shotgun and wait for them come so that he could deal justice on his own way.

**You think Lucy would do such things, Lincoln? **

_No, not really. I mean, she's creepy sometimes and likes those sorts of things, but this is just too extreme. Plus, she's too young to be doing stuff like that. _

**Yeah, I agree with that. **

_Glad to hear that...wait a minute, why am I talking with you? That way I acknowledge your existence, which is the last thing I want to do. Good night freak. _

**Good night Lincoln. Sweet dreams. **

Should he go tell his parents? Maybe it would be better to solve this quickly, so that Lucy doesn't get hurt, but then again, what if he was wrong? He would just raise a false alarm, and with his family already thinking that he's going crazy, it wouldn't help his case at all.

_Let's just go to sleep now, I have a feeling that tomorrow will be a long, boring day. _


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

**Wake up Lincoln, you're gonna be late for school. **

Lincoln slowly opened his eyes and touched his forehead.

"Strange. It doesn't feel hot, so I'm not sick or imagining anything. Oh well, my alarm was gonna ring in a few minutes anyway", Lincoln whispered while rubbing his eyes.

Sighing, he got up, took a new pair of clothes, went to the bathroom-fortunately for him, it was free because he was the first to wake up, he took of his pajamas, showered himself quickly, but just as he put on his fresh clothes on him, a door opened. The sun was already up but it was still rather dark so Lincoln couldn't see who it was.

"Lincoln, you're already up? Good morning", Lucy monotone voice greeted him as she closed the door behind him.

Lincoln felt himself getting frozen.

"Uh, yeah, pretty ironic considering that I had difficulties sleeping last night", Lincoln nervously smiled. Lucy then started to walk to the bathroom as he left outside.

_Now is the time… _

"Uh, Luce, I wanted to ask you something...", Lincoln wondered just as Lucy was about to close the door.

"What is it?", she asked with a neutral expression.

"Before I went to sleep last night, urm, I saw something outside, in our yard, and it looked like some dark, shadowy figure walking towards the streets, I figured maybe you would know something about those supernatural things...", Lincoln looked his younger sister straight in the bangs of her hair covering her eyes.

_Was I too direct with that question?_

"That sounds rather interesting, but I do not have any knowledge about that. Maybe it was a wild animal running around or just your imagination. You did say earlier that you had trouble sleeping. didn't you?", Lucy replied, without any hint of emotion in her voice.

"I guess, I guess you're right, it must have been just my imagination..."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have my morning ritual to do", Lucy explained as she closed the door, locked it.

"See you later then", Lincoln said awkwardly as he returned back to his room.

If she was lying, she was doing it expertly. Since she doesn't show any emotion when communicating with other human beings, one would have an extremely hard time discerning whether she's lying or telling the truth.

_He's on to me, what the hell was he doing that late staring out of the window like that, _Lucy thought to herself as she moved her bangs to the sides, revealing her icy blue eyes, and looked at the mirror.

"I really don't won't to hurt him, but if he keeps meddling into things that don't concern him...", Lucy whispered as she put on an artificial smile to see how it looks. When she's alone, she occasionally tries smiling, but gets grossed out every time by how disgusting and vulnerable she looks. That's what she thinks at least.

By the time Lincoln had breakfast, the rest of his family had woken up and gotten ready for school, work or in Lily's case, kindergarten.

"Come on now, I'll drive you to the school with the Vanzilla", Lynn Sr. said to his kid as they left the house and took their places in their old family car. Even after all these years, it was still working, to the awe of the Loud family.

They left Lily at her kindergarten, Lisa, Lola, Lana and Lucy at the elementary school, Lincoln at the middle school and the eldest three, Lynn, Luan and Luna at the high school.

Luna was in her final year of high school and her parents had ordered her that she must attend college, leaving her musical career behind.

"If Leni was able to enter one, then you should to", was their reasoning, but Luna knew the true reason behind it. They didn't want her to live the life she wanted to, a life of rock-and-roll.

Shaking her head from these unpleasant thoughts, Luna waited for Lynn and Luan to go with their own business, as she located Sam sitting on a bench away from the front door of the school. Seeing her secret girlfriend brought a smile on her face, a smile that no one in this world can hope reciprocate.

"Yo dude, what's up", Luna greeted her as she took a seat by her side. Sam responded by kissing her on her left cheek.

"Nothing interesting. I got into another fight with my brother and my parents tonight, as usual. They are really driving me crazy", Sam sighed as she was smoking on her cigar. Luna took a cigar from Sam's bag and lighted it up with her lighter.

"I know that feeling love, I have an equally shitty family who sees me as a freak. Truth, not all of them, Lincoln, Lily and Luan are cool dudes, but the rest is just, ugh", Luna lamented as the bell started to ring, signalling the beginning of the first class. But the two soulmates didn't mind it that much.

"I still don't understand what their problem is, we're both eighteen, we're adults now for fuck's sake, who gives them any right to dictate us who we should love, and make love to", Sam groaned as she finished smoking her cigar.

"The same bullshit as usual, 'my house, my rules', maybe when we finally move out from them, we will be able to live in peace", Luna grinned. Sam returned the smile.

"Yeah, I hope so. Let's go now, we shouldn't be too late", the two of them got up, exchanged a brief but passionate kiss on the lips then went back to their classroom.

A loud knocking on the door could be heard. Sighing, Lori lowered the volume on the TV and went for the door to answer. When she opened it, it was the mailman.

"Mornin' Mrs. Santiago, I got something new for you here", the mailman smiled as he handed her a blue envelope.

"Thanks, have a nice day", Lori returned the smile but knowing the contents of the envelope made the smile more bitter than anything else.

"You to Mrs.", the mailman waved her goodbye as he left and Lori closed the door.

She went back to the living room, sat on the couch and started to unwrap the envelope.

_Oh God, I only hope that this isn't what I think it is… _

But unfortunately for her, it was the worst case scenario. Another warning from the bank.

It concerned the credit loan that Bobby had raised to buy back his own house. When the Casagrande family (his mother's family), learned about Lori's pre-marital marriage, their reactions were even worse than those of the Loud family. With them being devout Catholics, this was highly unacceptable and heretic, and they severed any ties to the new family of three. When little Diego Lynn was born, the Louds did soften up and have occasionally visited their first grandson, but the Casagrandes got even worse towards them, kicking Bobby out of their house from Great Lakes City, and since then, only Ronnie Anne has maintained contact with her older brother, but even that is kept in secret.

"Twenty thousand dollars...where can we possibly find that much money...", Lori threw the envelope and its contents on the ground and grabbed her head.

Should she ask her family? Bobby would most likely say no, he doesn't want to be in anybody's debt, even if it concerns their child and home. Unfortunately for Lori, he's as stubborn as a mule concerning that question.

But as she was brawling with her own thoughts, she didn't notice that her phone was ringing. Just as the caller was about to hang up, Lori picked it up and answered it.

"Who is it? I'm not in the mood to speak now...", Lori groaned to the unknown number. She didn't care at this moment if she was rude to him or her.

"My dear Lori, why are you so upset? I only wanted to see how you were doing", an old man's voice could be heard from the other side of the line.

Lori's hands started shaking and she could feel some strange cold spreading through her body.

"Oh, Mr. Tetherby, how're you doing?", Lori gulped as she turned off the TV and stood up.

"Nothing particularly to be honest, I was just thinking on which yacht I should spend the next week, I get bored being in the same place for too long", Tetherby chuckled as he was gulping expensive red wine from a golden cup in his private jacuzzi.

"About your offer...I'm still thinking and I don't know if...", but Lori stopped when she heard little Diego crying from his room. He must have woken up.

Holding her phone in her left hand, she rushed to his room (formerly Maria's room), which was located between the bathroom and her & Bobby's room, the kid was one his feet in his crib. Humming to him a lullaby, she gently picked him up and went again to the living room.

"Lori? I know your situation, you're in debt for twenty thousand dollars, you have never seen that amount of money in your life, let alone held it. I am your only solution."

"How do you know about that?"

"I know everything about this town, my little birds whisper to me anything I need. Now, it's your choice, but for the kid that you're holding, think about him, do you want him to end on the street because of your and your husband's incompetence and cowardice."

"What do you offer then?"

"Two sessions that are long one hour each. Ten thousand dollars per session, that's more than a fair price if you ask me."

Lori bit her lip as she lifted her shirt and bra, and started to breastfeed her son Diego.

"I guess...I guess that sounds fair, but where would we...um, where would we do it...", Lori stuttered as she was on the brink of crying.

"In my yacht, of course. It will be stranded away from the city, so you don't have to worry of being caught or seen by anyone you know."

Lori took a deep breath as Diego was busy drinking her milk.

This decision was about to change her life completely. She was gonna have sex with an older rich man to stay in her house and prevent getting homeless with a two-year-old child. Just thinking about an old fart's penis getting into her womanhood made her physically cringe.

_There is still time, right? I can ask mom, dad, anyone...but Bobby won't listen. He won't admit it but all this has also taken an emotional tool on him but he refuses to accept it. He's only absorbing it into himself, he doesn't want to make me worry. But this was my mistake after all, I was the one who forgot protection… _

"All right then, I guess I'll accept it...", Lori sighed, finding it hard to believe at what she had just accepted to do.

"Wonderful my dear! I'll contact when the first session will take place, it'll be an unknown number again, so stay tuned", Tetherby laughed as he cut the line.

"Fuck my life", Lori whispered as Diego looked at her confused while still sucking on her big and swollen breast.

The final class for today was finished at the delight of many students. The halls of the Royal Woods Elementary School was crowded with children cheerfully bantering between themselves and either going home or to any school-sponsored sports clubs they were playing.

However, Lucy wasn't going to either of these two. Instead, when she finished for today, she went to the Morticians Club room, where Haiku and Silas were already waiting.

"Took you long enough Luce", Haiku sighed as she was reading a book about black magic.

"We have a new member if you haven't noticed", Silas said with a bored expression. He was half-sleeping in an open casket with arms crossed in an X shape.

A girl taller and older than all of them was sitting on the chair and writing down something in her notebook.

"Greetings mortal, what's your name", Lucy sighed as she approached the newcomer.

The new girl stopped writing and stood up.

"Maggie, what's yours?", said the girl as her big breasts bounced as she got up. Lucy followed them as they went up and down.

_In Lucifer's name, what size are those monsters? How old is this feminine creature? Sigh. _

"Lucy, I hope that we'll be decent to another", Lucy said bluntly.

"Likewise", Maggie quickly replied.

"Maggie is gonna join us tonight in another raid. Lord Darkstar has tasked with more sacrifices so that the ritual summoning can go flawless", Haiku said as she closed her book and joined the two other girls, forming a triangle.

"I don't think that I'll be able to come tonight. Lincoln has already started doubting me, it would be extremely risky. My apologies."

"That might pose a problem...all right then, I'll contact the Lord and tell him your situation. In the meantime, Maggie is going to write us a requiem for all the poor souls that are chosen to be sacrificed for the sacred ritual", Haiku explained as she glanced at Maggie.

Maggie just nodded and went back to writing her stuff. She was the oldest of the four with as she was sixteen-years-old, and the tallest.

"You know what you have to do if he finds out what you are doing, don't you?", Haiku whispered with a hint of a threat in Lucy's right ear.

"I do, the extraction of the spirit even if it's my own family", Lucy sighed as Haiku gave her a small smirk then went back to reading her book.

Silas then got up from his casket and went to Lucy's side.

"Come, I want to show you something", Silas said bleakly as Lucy followed him outside the room and closed the door.

The pair went to the old boy's restroom, which wasn't in function anymore.

"Why did you bring me here? I'm not in the mood for cuddling or kissing, if that's what you wanted", Lucy groaned.

"You promised that you would me your eyes. I think now is the time for that", Silas said, with a hint of lust in his eyes.

"Not now it's still too early."

"Okay then...can you show me your pussy?"

"Sigh...all right then", Lucy sighed again as she lifted her dress and lowered her pants.

Silas gulped, got on his knees then leaned closer to get a better look.

"It looks pink, and dry, and alien...kinda weird though...", he scratched his head. What was he supposed to do with this? Why did he even ask to see her vagina?

"Are you done inspecting?"

"Yeah, let's go now, Haiku's gonna be angry", Silas said nervously as he ran off without waiting for Lucy.

Lucy dressed herself again, sighed, then followed Silas to the Morticians Club base.

_What a spineless pussy...no pun intended...Luan would be proud...I wish Lincoln would have seen my organ of reproduction...wait, what?! _

"Are you sure that you won't come with us?", Clyde asked as they were going home after school. Today was a surprisingly warm day for late October.

"No, sorry man. I'm just not in the mood for anything, just wanna go home and sleep...", Lincoln shook his head as he yawned. He barely managed to suppress himself from falling asleep today in class.

"Well, this would be a good thing for you, it's gonna make you happier. Come on dude", Clyde insisted.

**Go with him Lincoln, he's right. It will make you feel better. **

"No...sorry...I'll just make the mood bleak and dark, I would only ruin the atmosphere for everyone with my miserable presence...", Lincoln mumbled as they continued walking.

"Linc, listen man, Girl Jordan is gonna be there. There are rumours that she has the hots for you, and only a blind man couldn't see it", Clyde winked at his best friend.

"Clyde, I appreciate your attempt to help, but you know that there's only one girl that I like, in that sort of way", Lincoln groaned.

Clyde rolled his eyes.

"Mate, she dumped you, it's over. Plus she lives in an another town, relationships on distances rarely work. And add the Lori and Bobby situation to that...yeah, there's virtually no chance of you two ever getting back together."

Lincoln clenched his right fist and bit his lip. He was right, Clyde was right. That hit him the most.

For whatever reason, Ronnie Anne now holds a grudge against Lincoln because her family has rejected Bobby and his son. Ronnie Anne, his younger sister, is the only member of Bobby's family that has had contact with her older brother ever since then. And it has been two years.

Lincoln did knew that his relationship wouldn't be the same with his secret girlfriend after she had moved to another city. But for one full year, they managed to maintain a stable relationship, and then, boom, Lori's unexpected pregnancy happened. The biggest hypocrisy that Lincoln had ever seen in his life had occurred right in front of his own eyes. Both families didn't allow Lori to abort the child, out of religious reason, yet when little Diego Lynn was born, the Casagrandes didn't want to see or hear anything about the poor kid, but the Louds did soften up a bit and have seen him several times, even buying him presents.

Then, Ronnie Anne just finished their relationship. For reasons only known to her, she had ignored every attempt of Lincoln to contact him. Lincoln asked Bobby to send her a message but she didn't respond. Clyde, Rusty, Zach, Liam, they all also tried but to no avail.

Did she hold him responsible for what happened between Bobby and his family? Lincoln couldn't feel anything else but believe that the full resentment that Ronnie Anne felt against the Louds was all directed at her former boyfriend and the first man in her life that she has genuinely loved in a romantic way.

"Lincoln, you okay? You seem worried about something...", Clyde wondered.

"It's fine...see you tomorrow...", Lincoln waved him goodbye as the separated at the crossroads.

When Lincoln finally arrived at home, he was the last of his siblings to be home. The rest of them were already eating lunch.

"Look everyone, Lincoln's here!", Lily was more than overjoyed to see her big brother enter the house.

"Come eat with us bro while it's still warm", Luna waved her hand.

"Sorry everyone, I'm not in the mood now...I'll come later, I promise", Lincoln sighed as he went straight to his room.

"Who would have guessed this shit again...", Lynn rolled her eyes.

"Lynn, what did I say about swearing on the dining table?! Or swearing at all?!", Rita rasped at Lynn, startling the rest of her daughters.

"Come on guys, can you keep it down when we're eating at least", Luna lamented as she hurried up to finish her meal. The stench from the cigars that she had smoked with Sam was still strong so she had to brush and floss her teeth as quickly as possible.

Lincoln tossed his bag under the table and jumped on his bed. Putting his hands on his head, he closed his eyes, apparently trying to sleep.

**You can't solve your problems by sleeping or ignoring them. You have to face them eventually. **

_Who are you?! What do you want from me?! _

**I just want to help you Lincoln, that's all. Trust me. **

_Yeah, that's totally what I'm gonna do, trust some strange voice that has been attacking me… _

"Hey, check this out. One of the most infamous beauty pageant judges, Marie Rose (42), has been found poisoned in her own house the last night. Police still don't have a suspect but it is rumoured that some of the contestant's family members were enraged by her judging system so they decided to take matters into their own hands. Again, these are just unconfirmed rumours so please don't take any of this seriously. Marie has been hospitalized and is in stable condition, but she will remain in the Royal Woods Clinic Centre for at least a month", Lynn Sr. read from the newspaper as he was drinking his standard black coffee.

"My goodness, how can someone even think of doing such horrible things over such trivial matters?", Rita shook her head as she was helping Lily clean herself up after eating.

"Yeah, how could they...", Lana glanced at her younger twin as the two were finishing their meals. Lola furrowed her brows and grinded her teeth.

"Oh, also this. A beloved car and bike mechanic, Ryan Jones (48), nearly died in a car crash after his brakes failed to work when he was driving on the high road to a nearby village. According from an anonymous source, the motive for the sabotage and attempted murder was a competition in bike mechanics. He broke both of his legs and his collarbone but he's in a stable condition and is not in life danger."

"Who could have done that Mr. Ryan?! He's such a sweetheart, how many times has he helped Lana to repair hers and our bikes, all for free."

"You're right mom, only an absolute monster would do such a gruesome thing", Lola glanced back at her older twin, causing Lana to grow red from anger.

_That little pink bitch, but if she tries to blackmail me, I can do the same to her, _Lana smirked.

_The dirty cunt thinks she can beat be at my game, huh? Well, I guess we're now at a stalemate, _Lola returned the smirk.

Upstairs, Lincoln had just left his room to go relieve his bladder in the bathroom when he stumbled upon his older sister Lynn, who just had finished her lunch and was headed to her and Lucy's room. The two siblings nearly hit their heads from the collision.

"Watch where you're going idiot!", Lynn cried as she punched him in the shoulder.

Taking a step back, Lincoln somehow ignored the pain and looked Lynn straight in the eyes, confusing her.

"How did you do today? Did you get into another fight, were you hurt", Lincoln asked with a genuine smile.

"You little bitch...are you mocking me?!", Lynn rushed at him, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him up his door.

"What? No, I meant are you fine, not in that way. I hate seeing you hurt yourself over some useless trash like me...", Lincoln lamented as he was on the brink of breaking down.

"Your tone gave me a different picture...I'm fine, thanks for asking, I didn't fight anyone...why I even stick to getting hurt for your pathetic ass, is beyond me", Lynn sighed, letting her little brother go, turning her back and going to her room.

"But you are right about that thing...you are useless trash and a wimpy coward", Lynn growled as she slammed her door shut.

_No shit, thanks for the clarification. _

**You should have stood up for yourself. Not fight your older sister, but try to explain to her in words what's happening to you. **

_Oh shut up, I don't have time for you too now. _

After Lincoln had finished his business in the bathroom, he could hear his older sister Luna playing the guitar in her room.

_Maybe I should ask her to play something for me, it might make me feel better. _

Lincoln stepped closer to her door and knocked several times.

"It's me, Lincoln. Can I come in?"

"Sure bro."

Lincoln opened the door then entered her room. He took a quick look around then sat on Luna's bed. Luna was sitting on her bean bag.

"What's up mate, how was school today?", Luna asked as she was playing some tunes on her guitar.

"It was all right, just fine. I was wondering if you could play something for me, if you have any free time."

"Sure bro, let me just get my acoustic, it goes better with it", Luna exclaimed with her raspy faux British accent. She put her current electric guitar into a box bellow her bed and pulled out her acoustic one.

"Just lay back and enjoy fella."

Luna coughed a bit to prepare her voice, then finally started playing:

_Fly me to the moon_

_And let me play among the stars_

_Let me see what spring is like_

_On Jupiter and Mars_

_In other words, hold my hand_

_In other words, darling kiss me_

_Fill my heart with song_

_And let me sing forever more_

_You are all I long for_

_All I worship and adore_

_In other words, please be true_

_In other words, I love you_

"Wow Luna...that was awesome, you really are talented and gifted at this. Can't wait until I see you become a famous musician", Lincoln said as he clapped to his sister's beautiful singing and playing.

"Aw thanks bro, that's so cute. Now if only mom and dad thought the same thing about that...", Luna sighed as she put away her guitar.

"Well, I have to go now, a lot of homework to do. See you", Lincoln waved her goodbye as he left for his room.

But before he could enter his room, he glanced at Lisa's and Lily's room. It was wide open, which was odd considering that Lisa hates being interrupted during her experiments and researches.

"Uh, I hope I'm not disturbing...", Lincoln said as he stepped in. Lily wasn't there but Lisa was writing something in her notebook. Lincoln saw many symbols that he was unfamiliar with.

"What's wrong now? I still working...", Lisa said absentmindedly.

_Maybe I should joke around a bit with her...she's too serious… _

"Do you have anything for a quick and painless death?", Lincoln smirked, trying to taunt her.

"As a matter of fact, I have been working on a gas that shuts down your organs and let's you float away forever, but it's still a prototype. Plus, I don't think that you would be the one to try it first, for now", Lisa elaborated, her face dead serious.

Lincoln's mouth went wide open.

_Geez, I meant it as a joke...this girl is dangerous… _

**Some things are not meant to be joked about Lincoln… **

"Fine then, continue your 'research', I'm going to my room", Lincoln closed the door to Lisa's and Lily's room and went into his own.

"Huh, what?", Lisa suddenly raised her head and looked around. Shrugging her shoulders, she continued to write in her notebook.

Night had fallen and Lincoln faced the same problem as yesterday: he couldn't fall asleep. He tried everything he knew, counting sheep, drinking a lot of water, but that only made him go to the bathroom a lot more times than usual and get into unpleasant confrontations with his older sister Lynn.

"I haven't jacked off in a while...maybe I should now...", Lincoln whispered to himself, grabbed his laptop, and laid on his bed.

He had a porn stash of around ten gigabytes of various porn videos. Real, animated...and all kind of weird fetishes, which disgusted even Lincoln.

_I'm such a degenerate scum...no normal human being would watch what I watch, let alone get horny off it… _

Sighing, he pulled down his pants and started to rotate his willy like a helicopter, but to no avail. He just couldn't get hard, no matter what type of video he watched.

"Fuck this shit", Lincoln groaned, pulling up his pants and putting away his laptop. He started to look out of his window again.

"It's not even midnight yet...", Lincoln watched as some clouds started to cover the moon. Tonight's night was much darker than the previous one, but Lincoln saw it again, the same dark figure from last night.

However, this time it was moving in a zig-zag pattern, apparently trying to make it difficult for any bystanders to recognize his true identity.

But Lincoln was sure this time: this was his younger sister, Lucy. He knew all about his sisters, how they moved, how they reacted.

Now the question was should he report it to his parents or should he go into an investigation alone?

"No, alone is too dangerous, I should find someone to accompany me...but who?", Lincoln whispered as he scratched his chin.

**You should have told your parents Lincoln, this is too much for you now. **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Wait, what? Can you say that again?", Clyde asked curiously as he was eating a cheeseburger in the cafeteria.

"I need your help Clyde", Lincoln replied, looking directly into his eyes.

"I got that part, but with what exactly? I really hope that I misheard the last part..."

Lincoln sighed.

"No, you didn't. Lucy has been leaving the house at midnight and I want to find out what she has been doing all this time. I'm sure that you have heard of the last events that have been happening in the cemeteries around our city."

"Yes, I have heard about it. Both of my dads have been very anxious about it, and are fearful for me, even though I've been going to school and nowhere else in these past few weeks. However, I don't think that Lucy has to do anything with it. Sure, she's always been weird and fascinated by the macabre and gothic stuff, but I think that you're overreacting now", Clyde elaborated as he finished his meal and wiped his mouth with the hand tissue.

"Hopefully you're right Clyde, hopefully, but there is this sense of dread inside of me, you know? It's enough that we have problems with Lynn and her erratic behaviour, we don't need Lucy to follow in her steps. Please man, I'm begging you as a friend, as a bro, come with me this midnight, let's follow Lucy and see what's this all about. I know that you see my sisters as your sisters so you can see this as helping your own sister", Lincoln asked in a near whisper, using the puppy eyes technique that he adapted from his older sister Lynn.

"Okay let's say I agree on this. What are we gonna use as an alibi? There is no way in hell that your or my parents would let us go outside at night under these special circumstances. Have you thought about that at all?"

Lincoln smirked and scratched his cheek.

"Don't worry that's easiest part. Just ask your dads that you will come with me to my house after school. Tell them that we have a hard exam coming soon and that we need to study together. Surely they will accept that."

"Hmm", Clyde pondered,"that does sound believable. I'll just say that I'm spending the night at your house and that way we can go to school together tomorrow."

"That's perfect, just don't forget to bring a flashlight, we're definitely gonna need that!"

It was time for P.E. or Physical Education, or as Lynn liked to call it 'Heaven on Earth'. For nearly everyone else, it was an exhausting forty-five minutes of rigorous physical activity and sport, but for Lynn that was her way of relaxation from other, boring subjects. Since she was too strong and rough for the girls in her class, she was forced to play with the boys-at their general dislike. Playing sports with a girl would be a plus, but neither of the boys in her class found her attractive, in the romantic way at least. The eighteen-year-old girl was of bellow average height, she didn't weigh much but her body was of tight and firm build with clearly defined muscles on her arms, legs, stomach and back, which was the result of her training various sports, and her personal training with her little brother Lincoln (much to his chagrin.)

Today's sport subject was basketball, one of Lynn's favourite sports. Even though height played a large factor in basketball, that didn't prove any problem at all for the tomboy girl. She was bellow six-feet tall, and men of that height would have trouble dunking and fighting for the rebound-but not Lynn. On the opposite, this was the thrill of it all for her. With her incredible athleticism and leaping ability, Lynn was able to effortlessly dunk the ball on players taller and bigger than her, get the rebound, play hard defense, it didn't matter against who. This intensity and hustle both shocked and impressed her high school coaches.

"I can't wait for the weekend! No exams next week and I can spend the entire weekend playing ball with my brother and cousins!", one of Lynn's schoolmates cheerfully exclaimed as they were getting changed in the girls' locker room.

"Lucky you! Since I am alone with no brothers or sisters, I have to shoot the ball on my own", another one sighed.

"Lynn has it the easiest, she has two full basketball teams made of her siblings and one still remains as the referee! Ah-ha!", one of the girls lightly slapped Lynn on her right shoulder.

"Yeah, you're totally right", Lynn joined in the laugh, but that laugh was only on the outside.

Inside she wanted to cry. None of her sisters wanted to play with her, and since she was in punishment and couldn't leave her house except for school she couldn't go the playground to play basketball. The only one who remained was…

Lincoln, her cowardly and wimpy brother. To be fair, he did play with her when they were younger but as they got older, he stopped playing with her. Lynn always wondered what the reason was.

Was she too rough with him? No way, she could never intentionally hurt her little bro, as much as this was a training for her, this was also a training lesson for him. It made him stronger in both ways, physically and mentally.

Then why did he turn out like this, so vulnerable, like he was some little girl that needed protection. He was supposed to protect his sisters yet it seemed that it was the other way around, his sisters were taking care of him.

_That's it, exactly like that, _Lynn thought to herself. That's what Lincoln needed, some more training, Lynn grinned as she packed her things and went to the next class in school.

Darkness had slowly enveloped Royal Woods in its entirety, and night had arrived. The Loud family was done with their dinner and everyone went along with their own business, everyone except Lincoln.

Their original plan was too risky, so they separated and Clyde went to his own home. Lincoln called him several times but to no avail. He didn't even read his messages.

_Come on Clyde, I'm counting on you, I can't do this alone… _

Or maybe he can? It's not like Lincoln was scared or anything, he was just going to take a little nature walk...alone...in the dark…

Lincoln glanced outside from his window and his eyes opened wide in shock. This night was especially dark and gloomy, not that it needed to be more than it already is, especially in the month of October. Even the full moon was barely noticeable as it was hidden behind a dense layer of clouds. That's most likely the reason for an unusual dark night, Lincoln concluded.

After a few more minutes of thinking about the meaning of life and death, Lincoln's phone finally ringed.

"Jesus Christ Clyde, do you know how much I have waited for your call?! I called you hundred times and you di-", Lincoln answered his phone and started arguing but his best friend cut him in mid-sentence:

"Sorry man, my parents were talking to me for hours about safety in these dark days and nights, blah blah, nonsense. Anyway, they did actually gave me permission for a sleepover, I'll be there in a few minutes. See ya!", Clyde answered in a hurry and ended the conversation.

Lincoln had many questions but none of those mattered now, his main partner was finally gonna come and they could start their 'operation of following Lincoln's emo sister into the darkness'. Yes, that was a good name.

Just as Lincoln left his room and leapt like a bunny downstairs in happiness, he nearly clashed with Lisa in the hallway.

"Calm down there older brother, you nearly caused me physical and mental injuries", Lisa cried as she took a step back.

"Sorry Lis', but Clyde is coming over and we have a lot to do!", Lincoln winced at his little sister.

"What mischief are you planning now Lincoln?", Lisa narrowed her glass-enhanced eyes at her older brother.

_Oh shit… _

"Nothing at all, you know, I'm just happy that me and my best friend are gonna spend some awesome time together, that's all...", Lincoln blurted out, his right leg nervously shaking.

_If Lisa finds out what I'm doing, I'm screwed. Then again, she can probably find it out on her own by using some lie detector or a torture instrument...let's hope it doesn't come to that…_

"I don't find it strange that you want to spend time with your best friend, human beings occasionally do that, but the timing worries me. Clyde hasn't come for a sleepover in a year or two, and now suddenly he comes...suspicious if you ask me..."

Lincoln gulped, praying to every deity he knows of for Lisa not to push any further into this subject…

"But then again it's probably some harmless prank so, I don't really care. Just try not to hurt yourselves", Lisa shrugged her shoulders and retreated back into her room.

Lincoln pinched his own right cheek.

He couldn't believe what had just happened. Did somebody kidnap Lisa and replace her with someone else? Was this Lisa's clone? It was highly unusual for Lisa to drop something that required thinking or solving a problem or a mystery but it looks like luck truly did exist and that it was on Lincoln's side, just this once.

A ringing on the house's bell snapped Lincoln out of confusion, and he raced to the front door and opened it.

"Yo what's up my man", Clyde greeted his best friend as he entered the house with a backpack on his shoulder.

"Hello Clyde, what are you doing here so late?", Lynn Sr. asked as he and Rita got up from the sofa.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that Clyde would be coming for a sleepover, we have this extremely hard exam next week so we're gonna help each other to study", Lincoln quickly replied, before Clyde even got the chance to open his mouth.

"Is that so? Then, why didn't you say earlier? I would've prepared some cookies or an apple pie for you two!", Rita smiled.

_You would make it for a guest but not for me, really? _

**Don't be so ungrateful Lincoln, she's your mother!**

_Shut up, nobody asked you anything._

"It doesn't matter Mr. and Mrs. Loud, thanks you for your hospitality. Now Linc, let's go to your room so we can start, we have a lot of work to do", Clyde grinned as he patted Lincoln on the shoulder.

"See you two, have a good night!", Lincoln waved goodbye to his parents as the two friends hurried to Lincoln's room.

"Took you long enough asshole! Do you know how long I have waited?! I even thought that you wouldn't come at all!", Lincoln whispered in an angry voice.

"Screw you dude, you don't have crazy parents like I do!", Clyde snapped back.

"They can't be crazier than my parents, believe me...", Lincoln chuckled.

"Who cares about that, let's talk about the serious stuff, our mission. When does it commence?"

Clyde lowered his backpack on the floor as he and Lincoln sat on the bed.

"Well, during these past two nights she would leave the house at around fifteen minutes before midnight, so roughly around that time we should also be prepared to leave. I'm concerned about how are we gonna get down to the ground without going through the front door...", Lincoln sighed.

"Don't worry about that bro, I have it covered", Clyde grinned as he reached for his backpack, opened it and pulling out a thick rope which was at least ten meters long.

"Where the hell did you get that?", Lincoln was astonished.

"Found it in my basement, looks fairly new. It's honestly amazing just how many things you can find in your attic or basement when you look deep enough."

"Clyde, you evil genius bastard, this is brilliant, now we just have to wait..."

"It's eight and thirty now, what are we gonna do until then?"

"Let's play some Mario Kart", Lincoln suggested as he reached for his two controllers.

"I'll be glad to kick your ass again", Clyde grinned as he went to start up the game.

Hours had passed and the time had finally came. Both Clyde and Lincoln were vigilantly watching outside the window for Lucy.

"There she is, right there!", Clyde said under his breath, pointing at a dark figure that moved away from their house and onto the streets.

Lincoln opened the window, then tightly wrapped the rope around his bed, which weighed a few hundred pounds.

_That should hold us both._

**There is still time to stop this Lincoln, don't bite something that you can't chew…**

_Fuck off already…_

"I'll go first, I'm lighter", Clyde whispered as he put on skiing gloves and rappelled down to the ground.

"How did it feel?", Lincoln asked.

"Fucking amazing dude, come on, throw me my backpack."

"Catch!", Lincoln threw down the backpack and Clyde caught it easily.

Just as Lincoln was about to put on his gloves, he froze in his place.

Footsteps could be heard in the hallway. And they were getting louder and louder, until…

The door to his room opened and it was…

"What the hell are you doing you idiot?", Lynn furrowed her brow as she closed the door.

"L-l-l-lynn?! W-well you see, I...", Lincoln stuttered as he started to shake uncontrollably.

"What is this? What are you planning to do?", Lynn questioned as she inspected the rope and Lincoln.

"Lucy...she went...in the darkness...", Lincoln said with a monotone voice. It was all over now.

"I know that, I woke up to go the bathroom and then I found out that she wasn't in her bed or should I say coffin. Since her breathing is so silent, nearly non-existent, I never even realized that she was gone, God only knows how long she has been doing this...wait a minute, did you want to go after her, on your own?", Lynn raised her head. There was a slight hint of worry in her voice that made Lincoln snap out of his trance.

"Well, yeah, me and Clyde, he's already outside."

Lynn chuckled.

"I should have know that the two of you were up to something. Listen, I have a proposition for you. You will play basketball with me until I'm allowed to leave the house, in return I won't tell anyone about your expedition. Plus, I'll even accompany you two wimps so you don't get scared, how's that sound?", Lynn smiled as she punched Lincoln on his shoulder.

_She wants what? To come with us? This keeps getting weirder and weirder…_

_The thought of getting beat up by her in basketball is a nightmare, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to take for the sake of Lucy (and sating my own curiosity…) _

"Okay, whatever, I accept, you can come, now let's just go, she's already way ahead of us", Lincoln answered as he rappelled down.

"What took you so long man?", Clyde was confused.

"Just you wait, the best part is yet to come...", Lincoln laughed to himself as Lynn followed the two boys down.

"Lynn?! What the fuck, we're busted!", Clyde yelped.

"Be silent fool! Yes and no, we don't have much time, she's with us, and frankly we need every help we can get", Lincoln explained, in a defeated voice.

"You heard him four eyes, let's go, stop wasting my time", Lynn smirked as the trio went into the darkness.

After a few minutes of walking into a random direction, the trio stopped for a moment.

Where were they even supposed to go? Royal Woods was a large city, and because of Lincoln and Lynn's bickering, they lost sight of Lucy. The fact that Lucy wore all black in this dark night wasn't helpful.

"I don't know about you, but I'm freezing over here, maybe we should have put something warmer on...", Clyde lamented as he blew into his cupped hands in an effort to warm them up.

Lincoln's eyes went wide open at the sudden realization: all three of them were in their pajamas, in an old October night. From all the hype and excitement, they forgot to wear actual clothes.

"You two are actually cold? God, you two are bigger pussies than I originally thought", Lynn chuckled, to the chagrin of both Lincoln and Clyde.

"Just because you are devoid of any human feelings, doesn't mean that the rest of us can't feel the cold", Clyde countered, surprising the sibling duo of his bravery.

"You little shit!", Lynn tightened her fist as she went to confront Clyde but he took a step back, as sweat overcame his face.

"Cut it out, both of you, we need to figure out where to look after Lucy. Every second that passes means that it's gonna be harder for us to find her", Lincoln intervened as he separated the two.

"Well Inspector Sherlock, that's your problem, why did you even try this if you didn't even know where you should be looking? And on top of all that, you dragged me into this mess!", Lynn chastised her younger brother as she put her hands on her hips. The scene was nearly comical.

"I dragged you?!", Lincoln gasped. There was no way that she had just said this.

"You blackmailed me into basically forcing me to take you with us in return for you remaining silent and...", but before Lincoln could continue his rant, Lynn put her hand on his mouth, a clear sign that he had talked too much.

"Okay, sorry idiot, you're right, we can't fight now, we need to find a way to track Lucy down."

"Should we ask some of the local houses? Maybe they've seen her?", Clyde suggested.

"Absolutely no way, this has to remain a secret, plus we're still in the neighbourhood, everyone will recognize us", Lincoln swiftly rejected the idea.

"Wait a second, what about that creepy school club that she attends?"

"What school club Lynn? Oh you mean the Morticians Club? What about them?", Lincoln leaned back in confusion.

"Use your head dumbass. They are a group of edgy emo kids who are fascinated with death and crap like that. These guys who are gathering at the graves were also reported as wearing mostly black clothes. Does this it ring any bells now?", Lynn explained as she tapped Lincoln's temple a few times with her index finger.

"Don't tell me that you think that they're responsible for that? They are like thirteen or so, younger than you or me, I don't believe it", Lincoln was sceptical.

"You really underestimate them Lincoln. I don't know about your experience with them, but I have seen everything from faking faintness to cutting and intentionally harming themselves. These guys are batshit crazy, don't let their young ages trick you. Lucy has tangled herself up in a dangerous group."

"So, the Morticians do it, all right. What now, where we should we find them, do they have some sort of a lair or something?", Clyde joined in.

"I don't know for sure but there were rumours that they were seen gathering under the bridge past the Ketcham Park. We could try and go there."

"That's a good ten minutes of walking but it is our best lead so far. All right, let's try there then", Lincoln said as he started to walk, followed by Lynn and Clyde.

"Are you sure that you and Clyde aren't gonna freeze to death until we arrive", Lynn smirked, teasing her little brother and his best friend. Both of them groaned in unison.

As they were heading towards the rumoured gathering place, their body heat was getting higher as the walking got them warmer and at least temporarily made them forget about the cold autumn air around them that sent shivers through their bodies.

Even though it was past midnight, not everyone was sleeping in the houses that they passed by. Some lights were still on, and they could only hope that nobody had noticed them as the three teenagers walking around in their pajamas in a cold and foggy night wasn't a usual sight.

What are we even supposed to see there, Lincoln thought to himself. What Lynn told him did worry him a bit, he knew Lucy, she wouldn't harm anyone, let alone herself. This was most likely just some harmless pranking going around, Lincoln assured himself. They were in that phase of puberty.

"Halt!", Lynn suddenly stopped as she raised her right fist, causing Lincoln and Clyde to bump into her as they were too caught up in their own thoughts.

"Lynn, what-", Lincoln was ready to argue but he understood why they stopped.

They were standing on the edge of the bridge just past Ketcham Park, where Lincoln would often go to play with Lily. His youngest sister absolutely adored that place.

The bridge didn't have a name, which was rather unusual as nearly every other bridge in Royal Woods had a name. Most people just called it the 'Ketcham Bridge' though, after the Park.

There were many legends that surrounded this particular bridge, many of them Lincoln had heard when his grandfather or as they called him, Pop-Pop, would come over and share them with the Loud kids. Of course, he would then get chastised by the Loud parents because they thought that such tales scared the kids. On the contrary though, they were intrigued and amused by them.

The one that struck Lincoln the most though, was about the 'Smiling Woman'.

The Smiling Woman lived in her small wooden house right next to the river and bellow the bridge. She lived somewhere around the second half of the nineteenth century, and was a maiden, meaning that she never married or had kids. Many suitors would come looking for her hand, but she rejected them all.

Many other women were jealous of her near-otherworldly beauty, which was further enhanced by her constant smile. Nobody ever recalled her having any other expression than a smile.

Since many kids would pass over the bridge on their way to school, she was often seen giving them candies or just waving and wishing them good luck.

Then one year, children started mysteriously disappearing after they left their homes for school. Despite a massive investigation which included the police, army and volunteers, twenty five children were missing. Deeply shaken by this horrible event, the Woman packed her things and left the Royal Woods forever.

Nobody ever suspected this, since everyone thought of the Woman as an angel on Earth so they just concluded that she was hit by this personally and couldn't handle living here. After a few months, the case was declared unsolved and remained cold. The grieving parents accepted that their kids were forever gone and missing. Until…

One night, as the deputy sheriff was scrolling through some files, he stumbled upon the Smiling Woman's information. Her birth date suggested that she should have been nearly two hundred years old now, which was way above the average human standard.

The deputy grow suspicious about this and ordered her old house to be searched.

The small door they found on the ground, inside the house, lead them to the basement and the basement lead them to an underground dungeon. Most of the officers nearly fainted from the terrible stench down as the sight mortified them all.

There were twenty five little bodies, bodies of children aged anywhere from eight to twelve, wrapped in bandages, looking like they were mummified. The process was crudely done, which produced the unbearable stench.

But the most disturbing thing, however, was a wide smile on their faces, from ear to ear, and their mouths sewn closed with a needle and black thread.

A nation-wide manhunt was organized for the Woman but no one was ever able to locate her. Many imposters were arrested but then released after lack of evidence.

There are many theories about what had happened here. The most common one was, that she was a witch or a demon in human form who drained the souls of children to extend her life. That would explain her youthful appearance, even though she was supposed to be middle aged but turned out to be nearly two centuries old.

The official case however just stated that she was the prime suspect for the mass murder and that the bounty of one million dollars still stood to this day…

"How should we approach this? There are many leaves down there, if they hear us as we step over them, we're busted", Clyde whispered as he tried to get a look down from the bridge.

"Follow me and don't make a sound", Lynn pointed to the other side of the bridge as the two boys followed her descend carefully down to the river, without stepping on a leaf and producing a crunching sound.

They settled behind a tree that was large enough to completely cover all three of them. With Lincoln and Clyde on the right and Lynn on the left side, they finally peaked behind the tree into the small space just bellow the bridge.

Four humanoid figures could be seen gathered around what seemed like a campfire. Upon closer inspection, Lincoln immediately recognized them.

Lucy, Haiku, Silas and Maggie, they all wore dark robes over their clothes.

"There's Lucy but when did Maggie join the Morticians Club?", Clyde whispered.

"Shush", Lynn silenced him.

"The sacrifice...take it out...", Haiku demanded. Lucy nodded and pulled a hairy, grey cat out of a brown linen sack.

"I...", Lucy gasped as her light blue eyes met with the cat's yellow eyes. The cat was purring in her hands and meowed a few times.

"The cat Lucy, now", Haiku asked in a threatening voice. However, Lucy remained still.

Haiku signalled to Silas and he grabbed the cat from Lucy's hands while hitting across her right cheek, the slapping noise echoing throughout the darkness.

"Fucker!", Lynn rasped through her teeth but Lincoln nudged her shoulder.

"Calm yourself."

Lucy straightened herself and barely managed to contain a flood of tears from overwhelming her face. Her right cheek was still red and aching from pain.

"Now, this is the sixth and most important offering, after this our ritual begins its final phase...", Haiku coldly stated as she grabbed a knife that was on the ground. Silas and Maggie held the cat on the ground while Lucy and the trio behind the three just blankly stared.

With a swift motion, Haiku trusted the knife deep into the cat's chest causing the animal to shriek and vibrate in pain but Silas and Maggie overpowered the cat.

Haiku then spread the chest hole with her bare hands and with the help of her knife managed to rip away the little heart of the now deceased creature. The body of the poor cat twitched a few times but then it remained still.

"Tomorrow, the main graveyard, at midnight. We have six hearts, the Lord will be pleased. In fact, He will finally join us in person and then we can begin the process...until then, disappear", Haiku commanded them as they quickly fled the scene with Haiku putting the heart in the sack and taking it with her while Silas threw the corpse of the cat into the river.

However, Lucy just stood there for a few moments until she shook her head and stumbled awkwardly uphill and went straight home.

Immediately as she left, Clyde vomited on the ground, barely managing to contain himself.

"What the fuck man, like are you kidding me!?", Lynn punched the tree.

"I'm gonna kill those two assholes, first they yell at my sister and then they hit her, I will break all of their bones, I will eat their hearts...", Lynn whispered in a threatening voice. The thought of that made Lincoln physically cringe.

"What...what now Lincoln...", Clyde asked as he was heavily breathing, still in shock.

Lincoln was just staring blankly at the river.

"Let's just go home for now..."


End file.
